Adventures in Fatherhood

Life at Work
We’ve put our hand to the plow, so to speak. We’ve marched into the battle. We have framed our building. When Jesus employed those word pictures, he was telling his hearers that they needed to count the cost before striking out on the Christ Adventure.

The pictures are equally applicable to the Adventures of Fatherhood. Before you have kids, count the cost. There are many blessings and there are many sacrifices. What is best for you and your wife right now?

Surely, though, there are readers who have already stepped out in faith, but are asking, “What was I thinking?” They didn’t consider some of the cost before, but they are paying the price now. Christianity often calls us to a higher level of courage and conviction than we dreamed in the beginning it would.

There are a lot of us who are fathers who often feel like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. Some of us felt that way the first time that we had to change a diaper by ourselves. Others of us felt ahead of the game until we met our match in our teenage children. Maybe you’ve asked the question, “What was I thinking when I thought I wanted to have kids?”

Here are three things that I think are important for fathers to do so that fatherhood doesn’t become a burden:

First, create the fun. Be imaginative, make the appointment (if you have to call it that to keep it), and have some fun with your children. You’ll need to do a little research to discover what they would really enjoy doing, but get yourself out of the house and away from your other irritations. You might just find that you aren’t so much frustrated with your kids as you are other demands that have become irritants.

Second, allow room for mistakes. You’re a Christian for goodness sake, practice a little grace.

Third, learn to laugh again. Kids laugh four hundred times per day. Adults laugh less than twenty times. Look how much happier they are! Laughter really is the best medicine – that’s in the Bible nearly (Proverbs 17:22).

Don’t give up. You fathers are already in it now. Get determined again. Don’t look back. Finish this tower and win the fight over the temptation to give up. That's Life at Work.